Efficacy and safety of apatinib in the treatment of advanced platinum-resistant recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer: A retrospective study.

person Zhongmian Pan Department of Gynecology and Oncology, Guangxi Medical University Cancer Hospital, Nanning, China info_outline Zhongmian Pan, Zhongbin Luo, Hongying He, Yujie Chen, Bingbing Zhao, Zhijun Yang, Li Li

Authors person Zhongmian Pan Department of Gynecology and Oncology, Guangxi Medical University Cancer Hospital, Nanning, China info_outline Zhongmian Pan, Zhongbin Luo, Hongying He, Yujie Chen, Bingbing Zhao, Zhijun Yang, Li Li Organizations Department of Gynecology and Oncology, Guangxi Medical University Cancer Hospital, Nanning, China, Guangxi Medical University Cancer Hospital, Nanning, China, Liuzhou Workers Hospital, Liuzhou, China, Liuzhou People's Hospital, Liuzhou, China Abstract Disclosures Research Funding No funding received Background: Apatinib is an oral anti-angiogenic drug that mainly targets vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) and is widely used in a variety of solid tumours. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of apatinib in patients with advanced platinum-resistant relapsed epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of patients with stage IIIC-IV platinum-resistant relapsed EOC between January 2014 and May 2018. The objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were reviewed and evaluated. The propensity score matching (PSM) method was used to determine the data included in this study of the final case. Results: This study included 36 patients in the apatinib group and 72 patients in the control group, according to the 1:2 propensity matching. The follow-up ended in January 2019, and the median follow-up time was 28 months. The ORR was 30.56% in the apatinib group and 16.67% in the control group. The DCR in both cohorts was 66.67% and 44.44%, respectively. The median PFS (6.0 vs. 3.3 months) and OS (15.8 vs. 9.2 months) in the apatinib group were significantly longer than that in the control group. In addition, apatinib was more effective than conventional chemotherapy in reducing the risk of PFS [HR 0.40 (95% CI 0.22-0.76), P = 0.0017] and OS [HR 0.40 (95% CI 0.21-0.73), P = 0.002]. Multivariate Cox analysis showed that the course of treatment and decrease in serum CA125 levels are independent risk factors for PFS in patients, while for apatinib, the length of treatment course and the location of the lesion are independent risk factors for recurrence that affects the OS of patients. The most common grade 3/4 toxicities in the apatinib group were hypertension, hand-foot syndrome, and oral mucosal ulcers. Conclusions: Apatinib therapy was an effective treatment for patients with advanced platinum-resistant relapsed EOC. The toxicities were tolerable and manageable.